on the debt ceiling. that's good news for markets because it shows politicians are not going to play chicken with the one thing that could really make a difference to the u.s. economy. it does suggest, though, that both the sequester and the continuing resolution might be places where opposition republicans take the opportunity to try to extract some containment trt white house. >> and what's your -- as you've priced that in, what do you expect, actually, the to be the outcome as we head into march towards the end of the month? is there more fiscal drag related tr these talks? >> we still see economic up sides for the u.s. citi economists have improved their growth forecast overall, but this isn't helping and it's not necessarily helping business confidence. what we think markets may not be prepared for is the fact that ee quest ragz is now likely to kick in. these are comments from both parties suggested that they be willing to allow this to happen. it may be the lesser of the evils. >> what are we talki